At the Black Cultural Center (BCC) Senior Banquet in May, Senior Lecturer in Dance and Inclusive Excellence Fellows Initiative (IEFI) advisor Chandra Moss-Thorne and Environmental Services Technician Benedicta Delima received the Kathryn L. Morgan Award.

The award, named in honor of the late Sarah Lawrence Lightfoot Emerita Professor in History and Folklore Kathryn L. Morgan, is given by the BCC to members of the campus community in recognition of significant contributions to the lives of the Black community at the College. These contributions may be in the areas of scholarship, professional services, student life, or mentorship.

“I am deeply grateful to the students who trust me and the process, and the fervor with which the Swarthmore students approach learning,” says Moss-Thorne. “This award represents not only an acknowledgment of my journey but also a celebration of the collective spirit of the Swarthmore community.” 

Chandler Dangerfield, administrator of the BCC, announced the awards. She described  Moss-Thorne as, “an effervescent, glowing, and jovial spirit who pours herself all over this campus and spreads her light. Her presence lifts any space, her joy is contagious, her commitment to the Swarthmore community is unmatched.” Moss-Thorne, who was brought to tears by the award, says she is grateful to have had diverse and expansive experiences where she was able to dance and now teach in spaces where she is not the only brown person in the ballet studio. In partnership with IEFI, Moss-Thorne supported the College’s participation in Women Against Abuse’s 17th annual iPledge campaign.

“As a senior lecturer in the Swarthmore Dance Department,” Moss Thorne says, ”I am fortunate to work in community with incredibly talented and thoughtful colleagues, inquisitive students, and community programs that enhance the learning environment. These collaborations not only enrich our collective experience but also contribute to a community of excellence and inclusivity within the Dance Department and the College community. In receiving the Kathryn Morgan Award, I am reminded of the power of community, the importance of honoring and uplifting the students in all of the courses I teach, and the profound responsibility of mentoring. I am grateful to Morgan for her legacy and commitment to enriching the ‘lives of the African Americans at the College,’ and to the BCC for the palpable commitment to fostering positive, meaningful and inclusive experiences for the ‘Black campus community.’”

Delima, who advocates for widows in Ghana through her nonprofit Benedicta and Sonnie's Tears and Pains (BSTP), was celebrated by Dangerfield as someone who is “loved on campus and is involved in local and international activism, specifically with her work in support of widows in Ghana. She is such a delight to work with and to be in community with.” 

In addition to supporting hundreds of widows in her home country by providing housing, medical support, and groceries, Delima and BSTP’s lawyer Richard Amarh are advocating that the parliament and police in Ghana increase legal protections for widows and their children. Ghana’s intestate succession law should protect a surviving spouse when their husband or wife dies without a will, but Delima says that extended family members do not respect the law. As a result, families are often broken apart and displaced from their homes. 

The award came as a great surprise to Delima, who says that her vision to support Ghanaian widows has been embraced at the College. 

"I believe my efforts to help Black women and children are recognized, and people have placed value on all what I'm doing," she says. "I am hoping to have a very positive impact on the surviving spouses and their children. Apart from poverty and a lack of accommodations, jobs, and skills, many of them are suffering from mental health issues. I hope to come up with a mental health awareness day for the surviving spouses because they are special people to me.”

About Kathryn L. Morgan: Morgan joined the College in 1970 as the first African American professor and was the first Black woman to be granted tenure at the College. She taught history and Black studies for 20 years and authored Children of Strangers: The Stories of a Black Family (Temple University Press, 1980), the first work of African American family folklore by a folklorist, as well as Envisions, a poetry book made in collaboration with Peggy Chan Professor Emerita of Black Studies and Professor Emeritus of Art Syd Carpenter.